Open Your Heart
by Vook
Summary: [Slightly AU?] Pazu’s life in the Ravine hasn’t been quite right after he and Sheeta saved Laputa. Haunted by his own dreams and memories, he is now troubled, confused, and scared like never before... Rating will go to M later. Reviews appreciated.


**Open Your Heart**

a Castle in the Sky fanfic by Vook

Hello, dear reader. I now present you my eagerly-awaited (er…by about two or three people, that is) Castle in the Sky story that I've considered writing for so long. It is a story inspired by movies I've seen, songs I've heard, and some of my own dreams and nightmares. It is a semi-autobiographical work that has been troubling and moving me for the past few months, and I finally decided to get down and put it on paper. Conjuring it up has not been easy—and I don't suspect writing it out will be, either.

Let me say now, this is not going to be a typical Castle in the Sky fic. I'm not sure if the terms "non-canonical" and "AU" apply, exactly, but…try to imagine you're watching a new movie with the characters you know, that takes place after the film. From what I saw, I interpreted Pazu as being 16 years old and Sheeta as being 15, and they're certainly not "kids" in my story. That's why I guess I'm labeling it as "slightly AU".

Of another note, yes, the story's rating WILL go up to an M within the next few chapters. It's not going to be a piece of "adult" fanfiction, just a "mature" one. However, there will be some graphic content, and I do advise reader discretion. Just sending out a little warning here.

Last, but not least. This story takes place after the ending of Castle in the Sky and as such, it will be impossible to avoid spoilers. I intended to label this story with the categories of "horror/drama/mystery", but since only two were allowed, I went with "horror/drama". So, as this is partly a "mystery" story, it does incorporate elements from the film into its resolution. You may not want to read this if you haven't seen the film.

So, are you ready? On with the show!

_Disclaimer: I don't own Laputa or any of these characters, and I am not writing this for the purposes of making any money._

**Chapter 1: The Edge of Perception**

Blue.

Eternal blue.

Nothing above him but an immaculate sheet of blue haze that stretched on and on and on, as far as he could see.

A slow, sweet wind tickled his face and ruffled his hair ever so slightly, the air so fine it did not even make a sound.

He tilted his head upwards and cast his eyes to the screen overhead. The shade of blue was so sharp, so intense, so deep. The color of sadness. It pierced him through and broke him open, it made him shudder, swallow hard, sigh deeply, blink back a tear.

And his eyes followed it down, lower. Watching as the azure hue grew lighter, brighter. And gentler. It just seemed to smile at him as it melted away, blending itself sublimely with the natural pallor of the clouds. Those big, fleecy pillows of pure white that told him everything was calm and fair below.

He loved it up here. Being in the stratosphere calmed him like nothing on Earth could do. Hundreds, maybe thousands of feet away from reality below. No, an entire dimension away. A completely different level of existence. It was a place he loved to go on lonely occasions, whenever he could find the time, just to get away from it all. To go where his worries naturally melted away in the sunbeams, like the way his thoughts of work did, when he slept, when he dreamed, gently swirling about before dissipating to nothingness.

So it seemed, as much as he loved taking to the sky in the Tiger Moth's kite that he had been so lucky to keep, it was never as wonderful as going there by his own power. It was so easy, he could go there anytime. All he had to do was close his eyes and he'd be soaring on the wings of his own ambition, rising above all his earthly cares, never looking down. Within seconds he'd be in the position he was now, where gravity had lost its grip on him, and left him just floating on the thinnest of air like a feather in the breeze. Letting his feet dangle, smoothly kicking, treading the air as if it were water, as he gazed on at an endless panorama of serenity.

His eyes glanced downwards to the horizon, the line that always divided his own utopia from the mundane world he sought to escape.

Something was wrong.

Instead of fields of lush green with patches of gold, or craggy brown cliffs, it was another vast field of blue that met his eyes, just at the edge of his perception.

_Another sky, coming to greet me?_

No. Not like the one he knew, anyway. This one was all one hue, a sort of drab, dingy blue. Ugly. Impure. But something stirred him about it. Somehow it looked tumultuous, troubled. And strangely exciting too.

_Could I maybe get a better look?_

Now he found himself staring directly through a gap in the clouds, his chin pressed against his collar, his head like a cannonball, pulling his gaze inexorably down at what lay below. It pulled his neck, then his spine into a curve. He hung forward, his eyes fixed on what lay below. And his vision grew clearer, he could just barely make it out…this new blue layer had odd, white specks in it. And they seemed to move about, too…some all shifting to the left, others to the right. No, now they were changing directions…

He gasped.

Silence. The wind had stopped blowing and he felt his hair go limp.

He began thrashing about, his arms whirling in wild circles, frantic to keep him afloat.He opened his mouth to try and yell his panicked notion.

_It's wa…wa…wa-aaaaaaaaaahh!_

Faster than he could get it out of his mouth, he found himself tumbling forward. The mysterious force that seemed to suspend him in the air now seemed to be giving itself all up to gravity. _Oh God! _A nosedive, a tailspin, a facefirst plunge to an uncertain fate, every pilot's worst fear. And now it was happening to him!

Down, down, down he fell, the once tranquil wind now whipping at his face, the flesh of his cheeks flapping about, the hungry, raging ocean swallowing up his entire field of vision with terrifying speed. With hands outstretched in front of him with open palms, he could do nothing but stare at this massive grave with which he was about to collide head-on.

It would only be a matter of seconds now…

Pazu's eyes snapped open wide as he found himself once again within his cabin.

_A dream. I guess I should be relieved. _

_But how can I be, when I just had that same one last night…_


End file.
